Measurement of aerodynamic coefficients of tower components of Tsing Ma Bridge under yaw winds

Abstract

Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both highway and railway. It has two H-shape concrete towers, each of which is composed of two reinforced concrete legs and four deep transverse prestressed concrete beams. A series of wind tunnel tests have been performed to measure the aerodynamic coefficients of the tower legs and transverse beams in various arrangements. A 1:100 scaled 3D rigid model of the full bridge tower assembled from various tower components has been constructed for different test cases. The aerodynamic coefficients of the lower and upper segments of the windward and leeward tower legs and those of the transverse beams at different levels, with and without the dummy bridge deck model, were measured as a function of yaw wind angle. The effects of wind interference among the tower components and the influence of the bridge deck on the tower aerodynamic coefficients were also investigated. The results achieved can be used as the pertinent data for the comparison of the computed and field-measured fully coupled buffeting responses of the entire bridge under yaw winds.